This is a sustainability-oriented blog. Topics pertaining to colleges and universities, but mainly focus on solutions to non-sustainable practices and trying to address means and methods for resolving them. Energy efficiency (reduce) is a preferred approach here. Sustainability is something that we all have to do, sooner or later! (Low politico please!).

Monday, April 14, 2014

The ABCs of colony collapse among Bees appears to be really, really ugly. Well, it has been ugly, but know we know a little more about it, vs. being mainly in the dark.

This current research seems to find that a combination of pesticides and fungicides reduces the immune system of bees.

This story summarizing the research is just filled with horrible little nuggets. On average the bee pollen they studied had 9 different special ingredients in the pollen cocktails taken live from California.

Worse, much of the pollen comes from the "wild", not harvest crops.

However, finally knowing more about the cause will help hugely in addressing this critical issue (for diversity and food crops).

Remedies of better use and control of pesticides/fungicides seems obvious. But organic methods should help a little or a LOT.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Coming to a Couch Near You: A New Wave of Telecommuting: Very cool discussion about Telecommuting. And Traffic. I just saw stats on the worst commutes in America. (several different ways to slice n dice it). One stat was the average person spends a bout a week per year (38 hours) in traffic. I have no idea where Mr Average lives, cause the rest of us used to ring up that many commuting hours in 2 to 4 weeks. An hour to work each way will clock you in at 40 hours within a given month. But don't move to DC or LA or SF or hour time in traffic meter will max out!Before the recession there were 4 or 5 Metros in Florida that were in the top 10 for worst commutes in the USofA. Now all I find (2011) is Miami with #22 and Tampa with 39.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Ouch. As you look at the clock, you will see that we are only 14 years into the 21st Century. Yet we have 13 of the hottest 14 years in recorded history.

You do have to take the whole of the earth into account, obviously, not just the USA, where we were ?fortunate? enough to have a exceptionally cold and blizzardy Winter. (Polar Vortex is now in our daily vernacular.)

If you want a composite graphic that shows the robustness of the evidence, go here. There are several data sources overlaid in each graphic. Note that the stratosphere is decreasing (cooler), that is consistent with a depletion of the ozone layer.

As we come up on Earth Day (EarthDay.org or EarthDay in Wikipedia) the impacts of business as usual (BAS) really revolves around whether you think something should be done to be much more sustainable NOW!, in decades or in centuries to come.

The degree of urgency really depends on how much you believe in global warming, and how fast you think that warming may take place.